Cupboards Are Bare at Food Banks – washingtonpost.com
The Capital Area Food Bank, the region’s primary distribution center, reported that it had about 230,000 pounds of goods on its shelves this week, down from 570,000 pounds at this time last year, officials said.
The short supplies, which are hitting food banks and soup kitchens across the nation, stem from a combination of factors: Federal supplies of excess farm goods have dropped, in part because of the summer drought and because farmers are selling more of their products internationally. Donations from grocery stores, a major source for food banks, have fallen as supermarket chains consolidate, increase efficiency and tighten inventory controls.
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America’s Second Harvest, the country’s leading hunger-relief charity, is projecting a shortage of 15 million pounds of food this year at its more than 200 network food banks. That would be enough food to serve 11.7 million meals or fill 400 trucks.
At food banks from Maine to Florida to California, “demand is up, and food is flying out the door faster than ever,” spokesman Ross Fraser said.
“Our inventories are as depleted as they’ve ever been before,” Fraser said. “Our food banks keep calling here saying, ‘My God, you’ve got to help us. We desperately need help.’ “
The above text are just excerpts from the linked article. During this time of holiday giving, please help your local food bank if you can. I donate to America’s Second Harvest – they are a great group.
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Tags: food, giving, holiday, food-banks, donation, Washington-Post, hunger
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